Generally a white collar crime does not incorporate physical harm to another person or persons, but includes some sort of lying or stealing. It can involve various individuals and a multitude of capacities within the same corporation.

Is There Really Such a Thing as “White Collar Crime”?

White Collar Crime consists of crimes that normally transpire within a corporate or business environment.

White Collar Crimes include

Insider trading

Anti-trust violations

Computer Fraud

Money Laundering

Embezzlement

What Steps Should Be Taken To Ward Off White Collar Crime?

A company can implement these processes to aid in stopping white collar crime in its tracks:

Banking audits

Records audits

Many different forms of investigations initiated by the company itself It is essential to keep in mind, a business that does not appear to be affected by activity that appears to be illegal in nature, looks guilty in the eyes of the rest of the world. If you own a business you should:

Various mechanisms in place to report all activity that seems to promote or illustrate wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities within the state and federal government

Always begin your own investigation to determine the exact nature of the affairs

Be extremely vigilant of your employees and their behaviors

Exactly When Is a white collar crime Crime Committed?

Since there are many kinds of crimes with varying levels of severity, it more than likely relies on whether the company is being charged civilly or criminally.

It would be a civil action if:

The behavior was something illegal under antitrust legislation

Appropriate records were not preserved to illustrate the conduct

If all transactions were not reported to the appropriate institutions

In cases of racketeering

It would be criminal in nature if:

A company’s leadership possessed knowledge of the illegal behavior and did not take the proper steps to bring that to light

Or if a company’s leadership was responsible for committing the crimes

Since the 1980’s most businesses are now under a very watchful eye by the government and highly regulated to deduce this type of illicit behavior.

What Happens If A White Collar Crime is Committed?

Under most circumstances, a company can only have punitive action taken against it through financial means. There are, however, the options of what is referred to as a ‘corporate death penalty’ where a company must close its doors because the damages are simply way too high for them to ever be able to pay. Also, it may be decided a company should be closely monitored for a determined period to ensure there are no further illegal acts. This is akin to a ‘probationary period.’